Adjectives in Vietnamese

Adjectives in Vietnamese

Adjectives in Vietnamese

Distinguishing between adjectives in Vietnamese is quite complicated. To clarify this problem, in this post, Tiếng Việt online will introduce to you the lesson: Adjectives in Vietnamese.

Adjectives are words that describe the characteristics or properties of things, actions, states, etc. There are 3 types of adjectives : adjectives describing characteristics, adjectives describing properties, adjectives describing the states.

-Adjectives describing qualities: tốt, xấu, sạch, bẩn, đúng, sai, hèn nhát.
-Adjectives describing colors: xanh, đỏ, tím, vàng, xám, đen, trắng, nâu.
-Adjectives describing sizes: cao, thấp, rộng, hẹp, dài, ngắn, to, nhỏ, bé, khổng lồ, tí hon, mỏng, dầy.
-Adjectives describing shapes: vuông, tròn, cong, thẳng, quanh co.
-Adjectives describing the sound: ồn, ồn ào, trầm, bổng, vang.
-Adjectives describing the taste: thơm, thối, hôi, cay, nồng, ngọt, đắng, chua, tanh.
-Adjectives describing the degrees: xa, gần, đủ, nhanh, chậm, lề mề.
-Adjectives describing the amount / capacity: nặng, nhẹ, đầy, vơi, nông, sâu, vắng, đông.

Adjectives describing characteristics

Characteristics are the distinctive features of a certain object (people, animals, trees, etc.). The characteristics of an object are mainly external features (appearance) that we can see through our eyes, ears, hands, nose, etc. These  external features might be colors, shapes, sound, etc. of things. The characteristics of an object can also be internal features that can be perceived by observation, inference, generalization, etc. These internal features psychology, personalities of people or durability, value of things…

-Adjectives describing external features : xinh, đẹp, cao, thấp, rộng, hẹp, xanh, đỏ,…

Example : 

Cô gái kia cao quá!
That girl is too tall!

Lá cây chuyển vàng vào mùa thu.
Leaves turn yellow in the fall.

-Adjectives describing internal features : chăm chỉ, ngoan, bền, chắc,…

Example : 

Con gái tôi học lớp 7. Bé rất ngoan.
My daughter is in grade 7. She is a very good girl.

Cái vali này rất nhẹ.
This suitcase is very light.

Adjectives describing properties

These adjectives are also used to describe the distinctive features of things, including social properties, phenomena of life or nature. These adjectives mainly describe internal features that we cannot see, touch or smell. They can be perceived by observation, analysis, inference, generalization, etc. Some common adjectives describing properties : Tốt, xấu, ngoan, hư, nặng ,nhẹ, sâu sắc, thân thiện, vui vẻ, hiệu quả, thiết thực, dễ gần, hào phóng, lười biếng…

Example : 

Buổi đi chơi hôm nay rất thú vị.
Today’s trip is very interesting.

Cô ấy rất lười biếng.
She is very lazy.

Adjectives describing the states

Adjectives describing the states are words that describe the states of people or things in a short or long period of time. These adjectives express the objective phenomenon in life. Some common adjectives describing the states of things : hôn mê, ốm, khỏe, khổ, đau, yên tĩnh, ồn ào…

Example : 

Thành phố náo nhiệt.
The city is bustling.

Vì bị ốm nên tôi không thể đi học được.
Because I am sick, I can’t go to school.

Above is: Adjectives in Vietnamese. See other similar post at category: Basic Vietnamese

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